Another chance...don't miss it THIS time!

Chapters at Robson and Howe in downtown Vancouver is hosting Rick and Brian Antonson for another book signing, this one on Saturday, October 20th, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. 
Get your signed copy of Route 66 Still Kicks, To Timbuktu for a Haircut, and Slumach's Gold right then and there and ask the author(s) to personalize your copy or copies with a dedication. Of course you don't HAVE to buy anything. Just drop in and meet these two famous authors. The underground garage of Pacific Centre next door charges a low one-time fee for all-day parking on weekends and the SkyTrains stops close by. 

The Antonsons at YVR.

The two Antonson authors were at Virgin Books at the airport today selling and signing books. 
They sold 18 books in four hours--not bad! They'll do it again next year!
The picture shows Brian and Rick and bookstore folks.

Gold Fever is Hereditary

Teresa Grigg wrote a heart-warming and interesting and above all well-told story that starts: "I grew up with gold fever in my blood. My grandfather Grigg, and his father before him were both dreamers of gold. They spent their life searching for the Lost Mine of Pitt Lake, also known as Slumach's Gold... "
Click here to read it all.

Local Legend Brought to Life in New Novel

In the legend of Slumach's infamous gold, it's written that Slumach was an elderly Katzie First Nation man who lived where the Pitt River flows out of Pitt Lake. Tried and hung for the shooting of a man in New Westminster in 1891, the whereabouts of his widely sought wealth said to be hidden somewhere near Pitt Lake, British Columbia, seemed destined to remain a mystery forever. With her talent for creating characters to truly care about, and her intuitive ability to summon excitement and passion in her readers, Bonny Darby weaves the historical search for Slumach's Gold into her novel. A tale of adventure, mystery, romance, and a hunt for true buried treasure, White Rose Caper provides the unmistakable elements of an engrossing escape.

Join Maggie Garrison, owner of flower shop in British Columbia, as she seeks to recover the key for an antique desk left to her by her grandmother. With her life threatened, she must uncover the secret of what the desk contains and in so doing, is pulled further into a mysterious hunt.  Along the way, she finds herself becoming more entwined in partnership with Jake McAllister, a handsome lawyer with a burning passion for her. Maggie’s friends and family reveal long-kept secrets, as she discovers an inheritance beyond anything she could have imagined. Fast-paced chases, blackmailing villains, family secrets, and a simmering romance propel Maggie into a covert and exciting life that is far-removed from her quiet days in the flower shop.

Fred Rogers 1919 - 2012

Only today did I learn about the passing of Fred Rogers on April 1st of this year. I had the pleasure meeting him in the summer of 2008 when he kindly shared with me what he knew and had collected over time about Slumach. I never would have guessed that he was approaching his 90th birthday back than. From him comes a wonderful story related to the chase for Slumach's gold. Click here to read it. To find the reports of the Province's 1952 expedition search here.  Photo: Interviewing Fred Rogers in 2008.

The Antonsons are at it again! It will be FUN

Just as last summer Rick and Brian will make a guest appearance at Virgin Books at Vancouver International Airport. You can meet and greet the brothers there on Friday, August 31st between 10:00 and 2:00. Rick will sign copies of Route 66 Still Kicks (his latest book) and To Timbuktu for a Haircut. Of course Brain and Rick will both sign your copy of their famous, bestseller Slumach's Gold. The photo shows Rick (left) and Brian at YVR last year.

Nuggets from Barlee's Gold Pan

From: brian_antonson@hotmail.com

To: tfletcher@blackpress.ca

Subject: RE: Your item on Bill Barlee

Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2012 20:54:15 -0600

Mr. Fletcher:

I read with interest your item in last week's Mission Record, "Nuggets from Barlee's gold pan".  You cite his coverage in Canada West Magazine of the story of the "Lost Gold Mine at Pitt Lake", 

In 1970, three young, budding writers, myself, my brother Rick, and our friend Mary Trainer, read that same Canada West article.  We'd heard about the legend of Slumach and his lost mine years before, but reading the item in Canada West magazine blew fresh air onto the coals of a smouldering fire and we set about to research and write a book on the story.  We published our book in 1972, a slim 56-page volume that sold, over three editions in nine years, 10,000 copies.  With 5000 in sales being a best seller in Canada, we were thrilled.

Time moved on, careers changed, and in the middle years of the last decade, the current rights holder for that book encouraged us to produce an updated version.  We took on the challenge, and the result was 2007's 35th anniversary edition, a much larger (160 page) tome that took our original treatment and writ it large, with expanded tales of people who have been integral to the legend...and to the search for Slumachs lost mine...over the past century, along with a great deal of updated research. 

That 2007 book, Slumach's Gold:  In Search of a Legend, now has sold over 9000 copies, pushing once again on the edges of being a double Canadian best seller.

And we dedicated this 2007 edition to the man whose seminal work on British Columbia history had started us on our own journey, Bill Barlee.

Here's a pic of our book.  Some copies, from the third printing, are still available in bookstores, and an online version is now on sale, as well.

Historian Fred Braches of Whonnock has two excellent sites on the Slumach legend.  One is a frequently updated blog, http://www.slumach.blogspot.ca/, and the other is a very thorough site encompassing the whole fascinating tale,

http://www.slumach.ca/.

And all of this...and much more!...exists because Bill Barlee sparked the interest of three young people in this intriguing local legend.  He had that effect on people, and left a larger-than-life imprint on our province and its citizens.

Brian Antonson